Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Body Percussion
By Christine Hare
Age Range: 5 to 11
Explain to the children you are going to use different parts of their body to make music and pretend to be an orchestra.
Start with the head - bounce hand up and down and say "BOING, BOING"
Then add one sound each time, keeping the same order beginning again each time from the start.
Push finger onto nose and say "Honk, Honk"
Pull one ear lobe then the other and say "Ding, Dong"
Clap hands and say "Clap, Clap"
Tap knees and say "Tap, Tap"
Stamp feet and say "Stamp, Stamp"
If you are standing up - you can wiggle your bottom and say "wiggle, wiggle"
Put them all together and you have your own orchestra!
For a bit of extra fun, do it backwards, starting with the bottom/feet - it's quite tricky!
Body Percussion
By Christine Hare
Age Range: 5 to 11
Explain to the children you are going to use different parts of their body to make music and pretend to be an orchestra.
Start with the head - bounce hand up and down and say "BOING, BOING"
Then add one sound each time, keeping the same order beginning again each time from the start.
Push finger onto nose and say "Honk, Honk"
Pull one ear lobe then the other and say "Ding, Dong"
Clap hands and say "Clap, Clap"
Tap knees and say "Tap, Tap"
Stamp feet and say "Stamp, Stamp"
If you are standing up - you can wiggle your bottom and say "wiggle, wiggle"
Put them all together and you have your own orchestra!
For a bit of extra fun, do it backwards, starting with the bottom/feet - it's quite tricky!
Conductor
By Mark Warner
Age Range: 5 to 11
This activity gives the children the chance to control each other's sounds by making different signals.
1) Choose a person to be the conductor (you could be the conductor the first time to show the children what to do).
2) Explain that when you move your arm HIGH up in the air, you want them to make a "Laa" sound with a HIGH pitch. If you put your
arm down LOW, they should make a LOW-sounding "Laa". Also, indicate the signals for starting (e.g. "thumbs-up") and stopping (e.g.
flat hand facing them).
3) Begin, moving your arm up and down, and making slow and quick movements.
When you have finished, other children can be the conductor, and they can control the pitch of the "Laas" (high arm=high pitch, low
arm=low pitch) or the dynamics of them (high arm=loud, low arm=quiet).
Once the children are familiar with this activity, you could let the "orchestra" use instruments. You could also split them into groups of
similar instruments, with the conductor controlling the pitch / dynamics of each group when he moves near them.
I often start the Rhythm Machine with just a basic 4/4 quarter note beat.
The person sitting to the left of the starter then adds their own rhythm to go along with the rhythms that are already going. Again, the rhythm has
to repeat and can not change.
When everyone has added a rhythm, let the kids listen for a few measures.
The first person will then stop doing their rhythm. Again listen for a second or two, and then the second person drops out.
It continues until the last person is the only rhythm. Listen to the changes in sound and how one part can make a HUGE difference.
My students are string players so I often incorporate instruments. They can beat on them, pluck notes patterns etc, as long as it repeats
over and over.
Tea
Tea
Tea
T C T C
C C T T
C T C T
T T C C
The class can follow this notation (reading from left to right and top to bottom). Then, try reading it in different directions (bottom to top,
right to left, diagonally!). Different groups can also perform different lines, and the children could also perform in rounds.
Developing the idea further...
When the children are happy with the Tea and Coffee activities above, you can use some new rhythms...
Cream So-da (the same as Tea, followed by Coffee) - also written as Cr Soda
Or-ange Squash (the same as Coffee, Tea) - also written as Or Sq
Co-ca Co-la (the same as Coffee, Coffee) - also written as CC
(the children might also be able to come up with their own drinks to use as rhythms).
Try the activities shown above using these new rhythms.
Listening to rhythms
This activity will develop the children's ability to listen carefully and to recognise these rhythms by sound alone. Give each child (or
group of children) a copy of the worksheet here. Then clap the following rhythm and ask them to write the rhythm that you clapped in
one of the grids on the sheet.
T C C T
C C C C
T T T T
C T C C
(remember that TC is also the rhythm for Cream Soda, CT is also the rhythm for Orange Squash and CC is also the rhythm for Coca
Cola - some children may have used different ways of writing the same rhythm)
When you have checked their answers, you can repeat the activity using different rhythms which you might have made up. You could
also ask the children to fill a grid with their own rhythm. Then, they can perform it to the rest of the class (who can write it down on one
of the grids on their worksheet).
Conventional Notation
This idea is also a good way of introducing children to more conventional notation. Explain that Tea can also be written as
crochet) and Coffee can also be written as
(called a
(called a quaver).
Again (if the children are comfortable with this idea), the grid can be read in different directions and different groups of children can
perform different lines of the grid.
Composition
Children can compose their own rhythms using Tea and Coffee (or the more conventional notation if they are happy with it). When they
have created their rhythms, they might be able to change the pitch of the notes in their rhythms so that they make a melody. For
example, their Tea notes could all be played at one pitch, and the Coffee notes could be played at another.